What About

What About Lyrics

[Verse 1]
We walked along the beach, what a moon lit night
He held my hands in his, he kissed me, he said
"I wanna spend my life with you, I want you for my life"
Just then I thought:

[Chorus]
What about the times you lied to me?
What about the times you said no one would want me?
What about all the shit you've done to me?
What about that, what about that?
What about the times you yelled at me?
What about the times I cried? You wouldn't even hold me
What about those things?
What about that, what about that?

[Verse 2]
I took a pause then a deep sigh
He looked right into my eyes as he said
"I know I didn't say somethin' wrong"
I didn't have the courage to say but then I thought:

[Chorus]
What about the times you lied to me?
What about the times you said no one would want me?
What about all the shit you've done to me?
What about that, what about that?
What about the times you yelled at me?
What about the times I cried? You wouldn't even hold me
What about those things?
What about that, what about that?
What about the times you hit my face?
What about the times you kept on when I said, "No more please"
What about those things?
What about that, what about that?
What about the times you shamed to me?
What about the times when you said you didn't fuck her?
She only gave you head
What about that, what about that?

[Bridge]
Don't wanna live my life in misery
Don't tell me you did it cause you love me
I don't believe, I'm sick and tired, your deceptive games
Wonder, where you have been, I can't live life wondering

[Verse 3]
My heart was poundin' but the time had come
To stop lettin' my whisperin' heart control me
And tellin' my screamin' mind what to do?
I looked him straight in the eyes and then I said:

[Chorus]
What about the times you lied to me?
What about the times you said no one would want me?
What about all the shit you've done to me?
What about that, what about that?
What about the times you yelled at me?
What about the times I cried? You wouldn't even hold me
What about those things?
What about that, what about that?
What about the times you hit my face?
What about the times you kept on when I said, "No more please"
What about those things?
What about that, what about that?
What about the times you shamed to me?
What about the times when you said you didn't fuck her?
She only gave you head
What about that, what about that?
What about the times you lied to me?
What about the times you said no one would want me?
What about all the shit you've done to me?
What about that, what about that?
What about the times you yelled at me?
What about the times I cried? You wouldn't even hold me
What about those things?
What about that, what about that?
What about the times you shamed to me?
What about the times when you said you didn't fuck her?
She only gave you head
What about that, what about that?

More on Genius

What have the artists said about the song?

“What About” is the most shocking segment of her current show, played out as a mini-psychodrama focused on physical abuse. “Elements of the song have to do with me,” she confesses, although she does not go into gruesome detail. “And elements are from René’s life. Abuse of all kinds –– emotional, verbal –– is incredibly common. The challenge is creating boundaries that shouldn’t be trespassed.” The Velvet Rope seems to be about boundaries –– restrictions imposed upon us by forces in and out of our control –– and, on a gut level, “What About” breaks through a boundary that Janet had previously blocked. “Singing these songs has meant digging up pain that I buried a long time ago,” she says that same day in Minneapolis. “It’s been hard and sometimes confusing. But I’ve had to do it. I’ve been burying pain my whole life. It’s like kicking dirt under the carpet. At some point there’s so much dirt you start to choke. Well, I’ve been choking. My therapy came in writing these songs. Then I had to find the courage to sing them or else suffer the consequences –– a permanent case of the blues.”